Begonia luxurians

Begonia luxurians reads as a small palm long before it reads as a begonia: bamboo-like segmented canes carry leaves divided into many narrow leaflets, arranged palmately and radiating outward from the petiole in a light, crown-like structure unlike any other species' foliage. Described by Scheidweiler from the humid Atlantic Forest regions of Brazil, it grows in warm, shaded to bright filtered conditions on organic-rich, consistently moist substrate. It's a specimen plant rather than a windowsill subject — growing to real height as a cane begonia, it suits a bright conservatory or a large indoor planting far better than a small pot.

Native range

Brazil (humid Atlantic Forest regions)

Classification

Genus

Begonia

Family

Begoniaceae

Type

Wild

Growth habit

Tall upright cane, architectural

Morphology

Leaf shape

Palmately divided into many narrow leaflets, palm-like crown

Leaf length

15-30 cm (overall leaf span across leaflets)

Leaf width

15-30 cm

Petiole colour

Long, upright, reddish-green

Venation

Midrib per leaflet, palmate arrangement

Texture

Thin to semi-glossy

Variegation

None

Growth habit

Tall bamboo-like segmented canes with crown of palmately divided leaves